White Rat

Gayl Jones’ short story “White Rat” (1977) involves the narration of a very light-skinned man called “White Rat”, his Black wife Maggie, and their son Little Henry, who has a clubbed foot. It starts in the present tense with Maggie returning to live with the narrator and their son after running off with J.T., who…

Color-struck

Amari Jackson Zora Neale Hurston 1926 play Color Struck starts off by telling the story about john and Emma . John is a light skinned man and his partner is Emma who is which a black women , and they are competing in a cakewalk. Although throughout the story Emma becomes jealous of a mulatto…

White Rat

The short fiction story “White Rat”, by Gayl Jones, was published in 1977. It follows a light-skinned African-American, known only as “White Rat”, his wife, Maggie, and Little Henry, the first child of White Rat and Maggie born with club-foot. Due to White Rat’s light skin, he is often mistaken for a white person; however,…

“Color Struck”

The play “Color Struck” by Zora Neale Hurston was originally published in 1926. Taking place in the South, the story revolves around a cake-walk dance competition, with the winner receiving a large cake as their prize. The main characters are John, a light-brown skinned man, Emmaline or Emma, a dark-skinned black woman, and Effie, a…

Beyond the Dialogue

Zora Neale Hurston’s 1926 play “Color Struck” tells the story of a couple in the “Jim Crow” South on their way to a cakewalk competition. Because this story is formatted as a play, the text is primarily organized through dialogue. Without much narration, aside from stage directions and how the characters speak their lines, the…

Carlton Ritz – Color Struck

This week’s story is called “Color Struck”. It is a play compiled within the book, Fire!!, which was published in 1926. The play was written and structured by the author Zora Neale Hurston. The story follows a group of African Americans in the 20th century who are going to perform in a “cake walk”, which…

Color Struck

Color Struck, by Zora Neale Hurston, is a play that was published as part of the literary magazine “FIRE!!” in 1926. The play revolves around Emma, a black woman, and John, a light brown-skinned man, and their relationship as a couple. The first three scenes take place 20 years earlier than the fourth scene, set…

Family is Family

Désirée’s Baby, written by Kate Chopin, follows the story of an orphan who grows up to marry a plantation owner in Louisiana, sometime before the Civil War. Désirée grows up with Madame Valmonde, and when she is old enough, she marries lifelong friend Armand Augbiny. Armand and Désirée move on to have a baby and…